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G.M. and Honda to Collaborate on Fuel-Cell Development

By Lindsay Brooke July 2, 2013 1:33 pmJuly 2, 2013 1:33 pm

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General Motors Vice Chairman Steve Girsky (left) and Honda North America President Tetsuo Iwamura announce an agreement to co-develop next-generation fuel cell system and hydrogen storage technologies in Manhattan on Tuesday.Credit General Motors and Honda News Photo

General Motors and Honda on Tuesday announced an agreement to jointly develop a hydrogen fuel cell to be shared by both automakers for vehicles they would produce around the end of the decade.

Speaking at the announcement in Manhattan, G.M.’s vice chairman, Stephen Girsky, and the president of American Honda, Tetsuo Iwamura, said that by collaborating on a common design and components, they would be able to lower costs and reduce development time. They said the new partnership would also work with energy suppliers and state and local governments to expand the network of hydrogen refueling stations, a critical element in fostering consumer acceptance of fuel-cell vehicles.

Fuel cells, which combine hydrogen gas stored in the vehicle with oxygen from the atmosphere to generate electricity, offer driving distances and refueling times equivalent to gasoline-powered cars. Though the electricity is produced on board, rather than drawn from a battery pack, the vehicles qualify as zero-emission because the only byproduct is water vapor. Many researchers regard fuel cells as more promising than batteries as an electricity source for vehicles.

Fuel cells also are expected to play a key role in the federal fuel economy regulations set for 2017 to 2025. A section of those rules allows each fuel-cell vehicle to count as 1.75 conventional vehicles in 2020 and 1.5 vehicles in 2021. Such credits enable automakers to somewhat offset the fuel economy of less-efficient vehicles like S.U.V.’s and large trucks.

Additionally, hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles are deemed important for meeting California’s zero-emission vehicle requirements scheduled for 2018. Under those rules, automakers would need to sell an estimated 1.4 million fuel-cell vehicles, E.V.’s and plug-in hybrids in California by 2025. And because nine other states are expected to follow California’s so-called ZEV law, automakers would need to sell more than half of a million of those vehicles nationwide in 2025.

G.M. and Honda are considered industry leaders in fuel-cell technology, ranking first and second, respectively, in the total number of related patents filed from 2002 to 2012, according to the Clean Energy Patent Growth Index. Both companies have had active fuel-cell development programs for decades — G.M. since the 1960s.

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Honda began leasing its FCX fuel-cell vehicle in 2008.Credit Honda Motor Company

Honda has produced about 100 examples of its fuel-cell FCX Clarity model, which is available on a lease-only basis in the United States, Europe and Japan. G.M. fielded a fleet of fuel cell Chevrolet Equinoxes that accumulated more than three million miles of consumer road testing.

“We have complementary technologies, and by pooling them we can move development along faster,” Mr. Girsky said. He described the new relationships as “a complete sharing of all our respective intellectual properties on the subject.” He even offered Honda technical assistance on its next fuel-cell car, a 2015 replacement for the Clarity that will be unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show in September.

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G.M. released a fuel cell-powered prototype of its Equinox model several years ago.Credit General Motors

High development and materials costs — G.M. has spent more than $1 billion on its fuel-cell program, according to company engineers — are forcing automakers into technology partnerships where they can take advantage of their supply chains and manufacturing scale to help lower costs. Last January, the Ford Motor Company, Renault-Nissan and Daimler formed a joint development alliance aimed at making “affordable, mass-market” fuel-cell vehicles by 2017. BMW and Toyota have a similar arrangement. Hyundai and Volkswagen also are developing fuel-cell technology independently.

G.M. and Honda executives at the New York announcement indicated that the fuel-cell technology agreement potentially could expand into other joint development projects.

“With G.M. and Honda sharing our technical expertise, we believe we can achieve the world’s strongest partnership in the area of fuel-cell technology,” Mr. Iwamura said.

A version of this article appears in print on 07/03/2013, on page B3 of the NewYork edition with the headline: For G.M. And Honda, A Fuel-Cell Partnership.

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